We launched on Thursday 8th May, ahead of schedule, having done the anti-fouling and the usual pre-launch jobs and checks but, alas, without our upright fridge which still had not arrived from Italy. We harboured a hope that we could pick it up in Athens, but as you will read, it is not meant to be. Once in the water we slipped around the pontoons and tied up in Cleopatra’s marina to complete our pre journey preparations. Great to revisit the restaurants we have become so familiar with around Cleopatra and meet up with friends made in previous years.
Our plan is to go up to Corfu, as 75 mile trip, then return and head south and then east to within reach of Athens before 26th May.
Friday 9th May we headed off early on the easterly wind bound for Corfu sailing half of the distance of 40 miles before we had to do some motoring. Mo had booked a berth on a restaurant pontoon off Sivota on the mainland opposite the bottom of Corfu and we arrived just before the afternoon breeze strengthened into an unpleasant blow. Another boat came alongside us and when the wind increased to over 20 knots on the beam it made for very bouncy conditions and our neighbour’s lazy line breaking. Everyone mucked in to share fenders and lines to keep all the boats safe, it was quite a start to the season! Interesting to be somewhere new and we enjoyed the visit but will avoid if any strong northerly winds are forecast!
Whilst Britain was basking under a big anticyclone that had lasted many days, weeks in fact, Greece was catching depressions running through the Med. Our weather was unsettled to say the least; colder than usual, often wet with unpredictable winds. We decided to head for the shelter of Plataria the next day to avoid more strong winds and we were joined by new friends Mark and Lisa from Takaria, with whom we spent a very pleasant evening dining chez Babis. As we walked around the town we received friendly waves and greetings from folk we had met on previous visits which made for a very welcoming visit.
By early afternoon on Sunday 12th we were in Corfu’s Gouvia marina to await the fitting of our new sprayhood on the Monday. All went well and we are now the proud owners of a shiny hood and can see through the new windows! The company, Gitras was most impressive and efficient, handling the modifications we requested speedily and professionally. We did a few other maintenance jobs, painting the transom of the dinghy and completing a couple of rounds of shopping at the local AB Supermarket.
We gave ourselves time out on Tuesday to meet up with Peter and Irene in Corfu town for dinner which was lovely. Goodbye to Irene, but Peter then joined us on the following morning for the journey ahead from Corfu to Athens.
We were promised a varied weather set due to many low pressure systems circulating offering up northerly winds one minute and southerly the next. We had had a mixture of motoring and sailing, visited Preveza to shelter from a rain storm, Sivota on Lefkas to enjoy the hospitality offered by Stavros, Oxia on the mainland coast for a night on anchor, Messolonghi to show Peter the town he missed last time round due to Covid and then Galaxhidi for an all too short visit before making for Corinth. We were on such a roll with the sail from the Rion Bridge to Trizonia that we decided to keep going, skip Trizonia and make Galaxhidi, a run of over 50 miles. We ran a reefed main for half the distance then reduced sail to just the jib, still making over 6 knots, but more comfortable in a lively bouncy sea. Galaxhidi is always a joy to visit and we felt especially lucky to squeeze between two boats on the town quay and enjoy the town for just a night.
We transited the Corinth Canal early afternoon on Wednesday 21st May, slightly ahead of Nigel’s schedule and, as it was late in the day by the time we had stopped to pay for our transit and to refuel , we anchored for the night on the Athens side of the canal close to the oil refinery which was a little smelly! Our plan to take Peter to Alimos marina close to Athens and to take delivery of our new fridge was thwarted due to it, and all other adjacent marinas being full! Not an option we had planned for but we quickly got creative over a new plan.
We anchored off Aegina having had an abortive attempt at getting into Perdika on the south coast of the island, but with northwesterly winds forecast overnight we made the decision to head for the shelter of the mainland coast and ended up anchoring off the beach in Epidavros. Peter explored options of getting to the airport and ended up settling for a comfortable taxi ride with Spirou, at a favourably negotiated price. We enjoyed Peter’s company on this long journey but it was time for him to get back to Portugal and home with Irene.
Peter departed early morning on Friday 24th and we set off for Poros to get a berth before the next batch of charter boats arrived and in front of the depression promised for Sunday. Quay space in this area is very much at a premium due to the explosion in the number of huge charter catamarans, each taking the space of 2-3 yachts. This is an increasing problem which the charter companies seem loth to address. The result is chaos.
We have achieved our objectives and got close to Athens on a tight schedule. We have done 359 miles to date.
Here we are in Poros and as I write, Sunday 26th May, it is very grey and a little wet, but the streets are full of people. The local Naval college has let all the cadets out into the town to meet up with their families. They look like a new intake of national service recruits, many with parents proudly walking beside sons in fresh starched uniforms, but there are some solitary figures sitting alone on quay side benches looking as if their worlds have ended. Tough times.
There is fierce competition for boat mooring space, so we are happy to be tied up! Tomorrow is another day and the forecasts are changing by the minute so we have no idea what we will be doing. For today, we have time to do our blog.
Deja Vu 
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